Handheld electronic devices include many types of devices such as cellular telephones, test equipment, pagers, and handheld computing devices. Each of these types of handheld electronic devices includes a user interface of a display and some type of a data entry device such as a keyboard. Often the user interface for a handheld electronic device also includes knobs, wheels, joysticks and other types of user input devices. Handheld computing devices typically require the most complicated user interfaces so that the users have many features and options of use of the handheld computing device. Because the user interface on a handheld computing device is typically the most complicated, then the handheld computing device is used as an example to describe various user interfaces. However, as described herein, the various embodiments of user interfaces could also be applied to other types of electronic devices, not limited to only those types of devices described above.
Handheld computing devices must be small. A handheld computing device requires a user-friendly interface. In various approaches to manufacturing handheld computing devices, the user interface has been compromised in one manner or another to reduce the physical size. Often the size reductions include combining multiple functions in each input device such as multiple function keys on an abbreviated keyboard.
In one approach, such as a PalmPilot from Palm Computing, Inc, a separate keyboard is eliminated and a touch screen interface is used. In another approach, a cellular telephone-type user interface is used. The cellular telephone-type user interface has a small display and an abbreviated keyboard that is typically a slightly enhanced, 10-key numeric keypad. In still another approach, such as a Hewlett Packard, Jornada 700 Series Handheld PC, a full QUERTY keyboard is included but the display is folded or closed over the keyboard. Covering the keyboard with the display decreases the physical size of the handheld PC but also removes the display from the view of the user and blocks the user from access to the keyboard.
What is needed is a handheld computing device that has a larger display and a larger keyboard than a cellular telephone-type interface and where the display is visible at all times.